Prince cleared his throat and rapped his knuckles against the door. Kat went into ready mode, her heart ticking fast as she prepared for anything. Footsteps reached the other side of the door and then fell silent as he was probably looking through the peephole. She stepped out of sight and left Prince standing with his back to the door so Vlad wouldn’t recognize him.
The door opened a crack. “Yeah?” a husky voice said.
In a motion too fast to track, Prince shoved the door open.
Kat rushed inside and looked at a short man in blue pajama bottoms who was backing away from them. The apartment smelled like brownies, and her mouth instantly watered.
“What’s this about?” the bald man asked in a shaky voice.
Kat glanced at the window behind him in the living room and realized why he’d chosen to live on the first floor. A large man emerged from the shadows and approached them, one who was twice her size. His eyes were thin slivers and he looked like a man who had spent time in a boxing ring. Not just because of his build, but his nose was crooked and face misshapen. As he moved into the light, her eyes drifted down to the ominous tattoo across his chest of a warrior holding a battle-axe above his head, blood on the tip of the blade, and riding a black horse with eyes like the devil.
Prince shoved the smaller man against the wall. “I have it on good authority that you’re selling young girls. Consider this your warning. I’m one of the most powerful Packmasters in this territory, and the torturous things I could inflict on your body would frighten your ancestors. Heed my warning, coward. If you so much as jaywalk across the street, I’m coming for you.”
“Yeah?” he countered in a wavering voice. “Tell that to my friend.”
“Not a bad idea,” Kat suggested, watching Mr. Scary Tattoo with bated breath.
Prince wrenched open a closet door and shoved the pajama man in, then dragged a heavy table in front of the closed door.
“I got it,” Kat said with cool confidence, strutting toward the tatted man. She was reaching for her dagger when Prince caught her arm.
“Let me handle this.”
She peered over her shoulder. “I’ll subdue him while you make besties with the little guy.”
A look of irritation flashed in his eyes. “I’ll not have you fight this man in my stead.”
Kat’s jaw set and she stepped back, her brows arched. “Fine. When you’re done crippling peabrain over there, the damsel in distress will be in the kitchen.”
She turned away, struggling to conceal her smile. It should have insulted her, but truthfully, Kat was kind of awestruck with his chivalry. Plus, she really wanted to see how he handled himself, and if she was lucky enough, maybe she’d get a look at his wolf.
While Prince laid down his threats, Kat wandered into the kitchen and watched them through the wide entryway. The other man didn’t say a word, and she couldn’t tell his Breed but assumed he was probably a Shifter. Based on the fact he hadn’t shifted yet, odds were he wasn’t a dangerous animal. Most likely he was just a rabbit or deer. Usually the docile animals were the ones who went overboard on their tough-guy image so people wouldn’t mess with them, afraid that they might be a grizzly.
The two men exploded into action. Kat held her breath, enthralled by Prince’s raw abilities. The man could fight, and not just modern moves with punching and roundhouse kicks. His actions were fast and precise. A picture flew off the wall and the glass frame broke into two pieces. When they moved out of sight, she peered into the hall. A chair flew in her direction, and she backed away as it crashed against the front door.
Kat strolled back into the kitchen and studied the contents of the fridge while chaos erupted in the living room. “Doesn’t anyone keep leftover Chinese anymore?” She cracked open a can of ginger ale and took a sip while bodies slammed against the walls in the other room. When it got quiet, she cocked her head and listened for movement.
“Charming?” she called out.
A maniacal laugh sounded from the little weasel locked in the closet.
Kat set the can on the counter and hurried toward the hallway, just in time to see Prince barefoot in jeans, pulling his T-shirt over his head.
“Dammit,” she whispered to herself, having missed his shift.
Disappointment flared when she saw he’d already pulled his hair back. She glanced at the body but couldn’t see the gory aftermath in the dark room. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Prince had either ripped out the man’s throat or somehow asphyxiated him. Kat was thoroughly impressed with how fast Prince had taken down such an impressive fighter. She thought they would have been at it for at least five minutes.
While he put on his shoes, she returned to the kitchen and nabbed a brownie from an oversized plate on the stove. It even had the powdered sugar on top she loved so much.
“Leave town and find another profession,” Prince shouted at the closet door as he left the apartment.
Kat followed behind him, and her lips eased into a grin. “You’re pretty good at this. Sure you don’t want to be a bounty hunter? I could always use a partner. We could be Mulder and Scully. Cagney and Lacey. Scooby-Doo and—”
He snatched the brownie from her hand and tossed it into a tall trash can.
“Hey! I was going to eat that,” she protested.
Kat was sucking the powder off her finger when he suddenly grabbed her wrists and wrenched them away. She watched in astonishment as he used her plaid shirt to wipe her fingers clean.
